This Is Actually Happening
What if you were trafficked into a cult...or were mauled by a grizzly bear...or were stabbed 27 times by a serial killer - what would you do? This is Actually Happening brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a man who woke up in the morgue to a woman stranded in a Mexican desert fighting to survive, these stories will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what happens next. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/ now.
Episodes
A police cadet takes a risky shortcut home one evening, only to find herself trapped and helpless as night falls in a brutal Canadian winter.
Today’s episode featured Hilary. If you’d like to reach out to her, please email her at hil_44@hotmail.com.
Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Forrest Chiras
Content/Trigger Warnings: divorce, parental abandonment and estrangement, death of a pet, alcohol intoxication...
A young actor, who seeks a greater purpose, is recruited into a clandestine war for humanity's soul, and is forced to confront his desire for belonging at the cost of his sanity.
Today’s episode featured Max Lebow. You can email Max at tfwpodcastbiz@gmail.com.
You can also reach him on his socials:
- @thefinalwarpod on Instagram
- @thefinalwarpodcast on Tik Tok
- r/finalwarpodcast on Reddit
Max’s own multi-epi...
A vulnerable girl, having already endured abuse from her schizophrenic mother, loses her freedom and innocence when a trusted adult lures her into an unthinkable decade of captivity.
Today’s episode featured Tanya Kach. You can email Tanya at tnkach@gmail.com or find her on social media via the following:
Facebook @Tanya Nicole Kach (Mimi)
Instagram @libragirl1481
Tanya wrote an autobiography “Memoir of a Milk Cart...
Abandoned after his parents’ devastating divorce, a neglected teenage son is committed to a psychiatric facility, whose barbaric practices reveal a far more sinister agenda.
Today’s episode featured Banning Lyon. You can email Banning at banning.r.lyon@gmail.com or contact him on Instagram @banningwrites
You can find out more about Banning, his book “The Chair And The Valley” and how to contact him at banninglyon.com.&...
Kat Torres has the insta-perfect life. She is rich, gorgeous and not ashamed to share it. Her posts about witchcraft and “alien baths” drew in over a million followers, all chasing the dream of a lifestyle like hers. But as she gathers more followers around her, the secrets beneath her fame grow darker and more dangerous.
One woman sets out to bring back her best friend who has fallen under the spell o...
After a brutal assault in the 1980s, a young woman identifies the wrong man as her attacker, but once DNA evidence proves his innocence, they form an unlikely bond, determined to right their paths of justice.
This episode is the fifth and final in our five part series, “A World Beyond Revenge” featuring five powerful stories of people on both sides of tragic incidents of unimaginable harm who found healing through the g...
A turbulent father-son relationship shatters completely when the son is killed by a distracted driver, and the father is left to confront his own profound guilt and the man who caused his son's needless death.
This episode is the fourth in our five part series, “A World Beyond Revenge” featuring five powerful stories of people on both sides of tragic incidents of unimaginable harm who found healing through the groundbreakin...
After committing acts of extreme violence as a teenager, a man is unable to shed his rage and find healing, until he’s able to face the roots of the harm he has caused.
This episode is the third in our five part series, “A World Beyond Revenge” featuring five powerful stories of people on both sides of tragic incidents of unimaginable harm who found healing through the groundbreaking process of Restorative Justice...
As part of our series, “A World Beyond Revenge” on Restorative Justice, today’s episode features Keeva Baxter. She is the Communications and Campaigns Manager at Why Me UK.
Why Me? are a national charity in the UK, promoting access to Restorative Justice for people affected by crime or conflict. They also support people who have been through the Restorative Justice process to share their stories. If you want to fi...
After an unsuspecting man is brutally beaten in a surprise attack, he faces crippling anxiety, rage and homelessness for decades until he is able to meet the man who harmed him.
This episode is the second in our five part series, “A World Beyond Revenge” featuring five powerful stories of people on both sides of tragic incidents of unimaginable harm who found healing through the groundbreaking process of Restorative Jus...
As part of our series, “A World Beyond Revenge” on Restorative Justice, today’s episode features Yoana Tchoukleva. She is an attorney, community organizer and restorative justice practitioner. She has held dozens of restorative justice accountability processes, both inside of carceral institutions and in the community.
Most recently, she served as Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’...
A woman’s brother, David, is murdered in a hate crime, and she spirals into a cycle of revenge, resentment, and anger until she meets with the man who killed him.
This episode is the first in our five part series, “A World Beyond Revenge” featuring five powerful stories of people on both sides of tragic incidents of unimaginable harm who found healing through the groundbreaking process of Restorative Jus...
A young man searching for acceptance and purpose falls into a life of crippling addiction and loses his son to CPS and the love of his life to a violent psychopath; but among the shattered pieces of his life, he finds a path to recovery, forgiveness and joy.
Today’s episode featured Daniel Hearn. This episode is part of a two-part mini-series, featuring Daniel and his wife Donna, whose story aired last week ...
A young woman swept up in a whirlwind romance spirals into drug addiction, which takes everything from her, but when a “friend” comes to help her pick up the pieces, she finds herself in the grip of a psychopath and must find her way back to freedom, recovery, and the love of her life.
Today’s episode featured Donna Gilchrist. You can reach out to her at pho3nixfire23@gmail.com
During the 1993 mass killing of Tutsis in Burundi, a young man raised in a tight-knit community becomes a target of ethnic cleansing, but as he faces his final, horrifying moments, he runs for his survival, awakening to a new life.
Today’s episode featured Gilbert Tuhabonye. You can reach out to him at gilbert@gilbertsgazelles.com. You can also find him on the following socials:
Instagram @gtuhabonye
Facebook @Gil...
A mental health professional in a turbulent marriage makes a fresh start in Hawaii, but after befriending a charming older man she finds herself trapped in an unthinkable nightmare that leads her to question everything.
Today’s episode featured Naazh. You can reach out to her at naazh1974@gmail.com, and you can find out more about her at naazh.org.
Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Forrest Chira...
A bullied boy finds companionship in his animal friends, but as he grows up and finds himself trapped in a soulless career, he discovers a new purpose: freeing animals from captivity and facing the dire consequences.
Today’s episode featured Wayne Hsiung. You can reach out to Wayne at info@simpleheart.org or on Instagram, YouTube and Substack @waynehhsiung.
After accidentally crossing the border into Iran on a hike with her friend and her partner, a woman is detained and held for over a year in solitary confinement, awakening to the sobering realities of oppression and the fight for a new path to justice.
Today’s episode featured Sarah Shourd. Sarah Shourd is an award-winning narrative change leader and a somatic coach trained in trauma transformation. She is an author, playwr...
While pregnant and navigating a rocky relationship, a woman coming home from a local fair stops for a soda one night and suddenly faces the brutal terror of a notorious serial killer.
Today's episode featured Jane Boroski. Jane is the only survivor of the Connecticut River Valley killer who murdered at least seven people, whose identity still remains unknown and the case remains unsolved. Jane has started her own podcas...
On September 11th, 2001 an ER Doctor finds himself in charge of the closest emergency room to the Twin Towers.
Today's episode featured Tony Dajer. Tony was born in New York City, grew up in Puerto Rico, and has been practicing as an ER Doctor in New York for 30 years. You can read one of Tony's articles called "Vital Signs" featured in Discover Magazine at www.discovermagazine.com/health/vital-signs-37.
Producers: W...
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